Comments:
Orleans has beautiful homes, but needs work on the warranty followup.
We have owned new homes in various areas of the country. This purchase is our first Orleans home, and Orleans ranks #1 in our experience for the amount of options available in their homes, and also for the sales staff. We had some problems at closing with the lender who had bought out the loan, but Orleans representatives got everything taken care of so we could close that day, although it took several hours to clear up the problem. Orleans also has the most upgrades offered as standard features (no extra charge), such as moldings and fireplaces. The home we purchased is beautiful, with the best floor plan we found in townhouses anywhere in the area. The community is also nice, and so far the Homeowners' Association rep has been very nice and helpful.
As far as the followup once homeowners move into the house, we would rate Orleans very poorly. The problems we've encountered have been with the overall finish/cleaning of the home at closing, and getting warranty work finished in a reasonable time frame. We have been in the home for several months and are still waiting to have work finished that was promised taken care of before closing (some problems were taken care of prior to closing, and some were dealt with right away after moving in, but we are still waiting on most). The problems are small but numerous cosmetic things, but builders need to understand that they can't forget about the homeowners once they move in. Several of our neighbors have gone directly to the warranty office after being frustrated with the on-site people who are supposed to be taking care of the problems, and the warranty office moves on the problems quickly, so that will be our next step. With all but one of our past home builders we didn't have this problem....the finished home was perfect, and the rare minor problems were dealt with immediately.
I would probably purchase another home from Orleans in the future, however I would refuse to close until all problems found at the initial walk-through were taken care of as promised.
